Singh v. Cigna Corp.

The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a class action alleging violations of federal securities laws by Cigna and its officers. Plaintiffs alleged that certain of defendants' statements were materially misleading, constituting fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5.The court held that the statements were not materially misleading, because they were tentative and generic, emphasizing the complex and evolving regulatory environment Cigna faced. Therefore, plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege that a reasonable investor would view these statements as having significantly altered the total mix of information made available. In this case, the statements at issue in Cigna's Code of Ethics were a textbook example of puffery, and a reasonable investor would not rely on the 2013 and 2014 Form 10-K statements as representations of satisfactory compliance. View "Singh v. Cigna Corp." on Justia Law